Never
by Ghoullly
Summary: When Goldie hears that there are strange "accidents" occurring at the sister locations of the Diner (what exactly is happening is unbeknownst to her and everybody refuses to explain, much to her disgust), she begins to worry a bit. Her best friend, Spring, reassures her that she's fretting over nothing... right?


**Hello there! This isn't too, too long and would likely be considered a ficlet. I know it's not much (and still not the final part of the Lingering "series"), but I figured a Five Nights fanfiction was long overdue from me :)**

 **Also, I have clumsily lost track of which reviews I responded to on the other stories (and I'm very, very sorry about that, I feel horrible), so I figured I could answer them all that I possibly missed here- thank you all so much; I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed them! Reading them never fails to make my day, you are all so sweet! 33**

 **(A quick note too; Goldie will be referred to with she/her pronouns :) Enjoy!)**

 **...**

"Everything seems to be in check- your models show no signs of impending failure anytime soon."

Blowing out an almost over-exaggerated sigh, the short man with hair the color of coal hunched over, his hands on his knees. " _Oh!_ Oh, what a relief, haha!" He stood rightside up again and ran his fingers through his fringe a couple times to fix it. "They, uh, they really had me worried there. I figured they'd be alright, though. They were always really cooperative robots. However-" Peter crossed his arms and pinched his eyebrows confusedly, "Spring Bonnie was safe, you said, right?"

The machinist clicked his pen closed and stuck it in his breast pocket, holding up his clipboard, having to squint at it to be able to read it. "Uhhhh... yeah." He looked at Peter strangely. "Why do you ask?"

"I noticed he was making these clicking noises near the lock the other day." He turned around a little to look into the dining room, where the golden bear was walking around and gently fixing the tablecloths that had been put on for the morning's parties. She had always been very picky about how they were put on, and usually, all the employees had to do was try to make the cloth even on all sides and she was fine. They often joked that they had to "pass inspection" when it was their turn to close. Of course, if they hadn't, she'd just laugh and shake her head and quietly fix them. "It was a good try, though!" she'd squeak in her high voice, calling the employee by their name. When they recieved her from the warehouses, they were a bit confused as to what her name was supposed to be because several of them were listed (and they all were different), so they nicknamed her "Goldie" for the time being because of her bright color. Even after they realized what her real name was, the nickname stuck.

The other animatronic was the exact same color, but everybody called him "Spring", which was short for Spring Bonnie. He was a bit mischievous, but never meant to cause any trouble- he absolutely _loved_ to play hide and seek with the employees, as well as with objects. For example, he had found an extra key sitting on the manager's desk and wasn't sure where it went to, since all of the keys to the rooms were hanging on the wall with labels, so he figured it wasn't needed. Since Goldie wasn't sure where it went either, he decided to keep it in his jaw. After Peter had been looking for it for about a half an hour the next morning, he explained to the animatronic that the key was _super, super_ important and that he needed it. That was when he happily (yet confusedly) admitted that he had it the whole time and gave it up, although he was slightly reluctant. There was no extra room, so why was there an extra key? He had felt so proud when he found it too. Even though he wished he could've held onto it, he was never one to argue and understood that it was off limits.

Spring had been sitting on the edge of the stage with his guitar in his hands, messing around with the faux strings. He had accidentally dropped it earlier when he had to stop on a dime because a small child had whisked into his path and he didn't want to hurt her. The damage wasn't too, too bad (and he didn't want Goldie to see that part of it had actually broke because it would bother her), so he set it next to him and watched her softly sing to herself as she continued to fix the tables.

"Oh. Well, I mean, I looked him over and nothing too bad was found. Nothing that would cause a break in the next couple of months, anyway." The machinist tucked his clipboard under his arm and folded his hands. The Phone Guy nodded and shrugged in acceptance, but cast a glance at Spring again.

"I know, I know... I would just hate for something to happen here. We're the only location that hasn't had a break yet, and..." Peter smiled sheepishly and let out a chuckle. "I know I'm a bit paranoid, but they're both so sweet and would feel absolutely terrible if something happened." Mumbling under his breath, he added, "Not only that, but we don't exactly have the, uh... finances, to be able to go to court."

The other man just made a 'huh'-ing noise and stood silent for a second before clicking his tongue. "Well, I oughta get going. Here's your copy of the report; if I were you, I'd hang it up by the door or something. Keeps the patrons happy." When he saw that Peter took it with a wincing smile, he scoffed annoyedly. "I mean, your animatronics can't read print that small, can they?"

"No, I guess not," Peter figured, forcing a smile and shaking the man's hand. Not even five seconds after he had left, Spring called out, "Read what?"

Peter turned around and instantly began to fold the paper into halves several times. "Oh, just the report for today. You guys did good; you did the best out of all the sister locations! Good job!" He stuck the report into his pocket and clapped, approaching the robots. Goldie had decided that the tables were now par and sat next to Spring on the stage.

"What was that for, anyway? I don't recall having to ever undergo any tests before." Goldie took her hat off and set it down gently next to her.

"Ohhhh... uh, you know," Peter wrung his hands awkwardly, "Just to check up on you guys. Make sure your locks are still working. There was, uh, not-so-good results at the sister locations. But you guys did alright!" He smiled at them and began to head to his office, knowing that they were loud enough to be heard from in there and he could probably yell to them as well.

"Did something happen?"

Peter let out a heavy laugh, looking back for a second. "Wow, you two ask a lot of questions!"

"Mr. Guerrero, I am serious!" Goldie pouted. "Please answer my question. I am deeply sorry if I sound rude by pressing on, but you've intrigued us and are giving us some odd answers."

Peter held his tongue for a second, deciding if he should lie or not. In this time, he opened one of his drawers in his desk and lifted the files inside, shoving the report under there so Spring wouldn't be able to find it. To be sure, he locked the drawer as well.

"Well, Goldie," Peter grabbed his coat and began to put it on, leaving the door of his office open in case Spring wanted to nose around like he usually did. He headed into the dining room, slowly walking toward the door. "There were a couple, uh, accidents... at the other locations, yes. As of right now, we are the only location still open." He smiled at the two, who were listening quietly. "It's nothing to worry about, though. Our business is still going strong and you two passed inspection, so we'll be alright!"

He knelt down and picked up the doorstop that was holding the door open. While he wasn't looking, Goldie turned to Spring and whispered to the best of her ability, "Inspection for what?"

Peter set the stop off to the side and took a step forward to look over and make sure that the back curtains were open for Goldie. When he saw that they were, he waved at the two and they waved back. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright?"

"Au revoir!" Goldie cried with a giggle, Spring waving silently. Peter closed the inner doors and locked them, and proceeded to do the same with the outside. The lights began to shut off one by one, only leaving a dim light that hung over the dining area.

As always, Goldie moved over to the window and stared outside. Spring picked up her hat and his guitar and moved them further upstage, following her over and standing next to her.

One night around the same time when the Diner was first opened, a couple employees had stayed long after closing to help paint the walls Mamie pink and decided to leave the curtains open. Curiosity had drawn the bear over and she had immediately fell in love with the starry sky outside. She was mesmerized by the sight of the rich blue tones and admired how each and every star appeared as if it were a pinprick of a sequin. If there was one thing that Goldie adored, it was sparkly things; she had always thought her sparkly gray hat was the prettiest. After seeing how much the animatronic liked the stars, it became a regular thing for the closing employee to leave the back curtains open so she could peer out at them. Spring had taken note of it as well and had even had acquired the key to the window to open it so he could help his friend see them even better, but was met by disappointment when he couldn't figure out how to fit it into the lock. Everything seemed to be under lock and key around there.

Tonight, though, Goldie seemed a bit off, staring up like she usually was, but she tapped her fingers uncomfortably on the sill.

Jokingly, Spring leant forward and looked up, nodding. "Yep, yep- they all look exactly the same as they did last night." He wiggled his ears and opened his jaw a little more, letting out a laugh. Goldie glanced over and reached out and nudged him gently.

"You be quiet," was all she said.

"What's the matter, G? You're acting kind of strange."

"I am?" Goldie bent her eyebrows and cocked her head. "I don't know why you would think that."

Spring leant against the sill, looking up at the sky too, which was currently being passed over by a dark cloud. "Come on, you can't lie to me; I know how you are. You were acting alright until Peter brought up those accidents." His elbow bumped his bowtie, lopsiding it a bit.

Goldie was silent for a while, watching deep into the parking lot, trying to see inside the woods at the very back. She let out an indifferent hum, turning a bit to look at the rabbit, who rested a hand on his hip. "I suppose I'm just worried." She saw that his tie was off and reached out, beginning to fix it.

"Worried about what? That we're gonna get an accident, too?" He was used to Goldie fixing his props all the time- he was so clumsy that it didn't take much for him to tilt his bowtie or get a string in his guitar tangled, and it never took long for her to notice it and begin to fret with it until it was normal again.

"Well- that, and I guess that I'm a bit concerned as to what sort of crowd we get."

Spring squinted at her with confusion (due to his lack of eyebrows). "What? Crowd? We entertain children, Goldie, what sort of crowd are you talking about?" He hated how cryptic she was being.

Pleased that his bowtie was back in order, she turned completely away from the window and now faced her friend. She raised a hand to where her jaw met her headpiece and toyed with the screw that held them together. "Spring, if there's one thing I've noticed in adult humans, it's that they're drawn to tragedy like a flame. It is _something_ about them that makes them so intrigued in things that no one should be interested in. If we are the only remaining restaurant that hasn't had one of these- these "accidents", then what if they all begin to come here solely to wait around until something actually happens?" She threw a hand up defeatedly. "I mean, they can't go to the other diners because they're shut down! I want to be something that children want to come and see so I can make their day and be something they remember for a long, long time, not some _attraction_ for teenagers and adults who have nothing better to do with their time!" She opened her mouth to say something else, but decided to hold it back, crossing her arms and letting out a sigh of frustration.

"Goldie, Goldie, Goldie, calm down, alright?" Spring moved over to her and turned her so she was facing the stars again and draped a friendly arm around her broad shoulders, pulling her head a little closer. He looked at her with his smile that he was known for, which could be read certain ways in differing situations. At the moment, it was of amusement in the unnecessary worries of his friend. Goldie knew, too, and continued to watch the pinpricks of light dance under the clouds, averting from his eyes.

"It's all just getting to your head. There's nothing to worry about! We've got parties booked for weeks and weeks; and you know that we usually don't let anybody come in and stand around that isn't with a party, so this "crowd" that you're stressing about is pretty much impossible to have." He nudged her side to get her attention and she turned her head slightly, looking at him sulkily. "And nothing's gonna happen here, so if there _are_ people thinking they're gonna see something, they're in for a disappointment. We will _never_ be an attraction."

He remained quiet, awaiting her response. His arm was still firm around her shoulder as he stared at her. The golden bear kept her arms crossed as she finally glanced over at him. "Do you promise me?"

"I _promise._ " He smiled and took his arm away, leaning against the sill. Goldie shrugged, fixing her tie.

"Well, I guess if you say so." She really hoped Spring was right; she wasn't sure how she'd act if she would have to hide her anger that their actions would be watched so closely by sketchy adults. What were the accidents even about, anyway? Peter would never give her the full answer; he liked to beat around the bush. A lot.

Spring imitated a noise that sounded like a snort and he lifted his head up, crossing his arms. "Oh, does the sparkly bear disagree? Does she think I'm lying?"

"What? No!" Goldie defended herself, giggling a bit at him. "I never said I didn't believe you." The stars were nearly impossible to see now, heavy clouds blocking them. Disappointedly, Goldie walked up to the stage, going up so she could grab her hat. His comment had reminded her that she wasn't wearing it. "I just really hope that everything works out in the end."

"It will," Spring shrugged, nodding, moving in between the tables, "just trust the giant rabbit in a bowtie."

For some reason, that made the both of them laugh really hard even though it wasn't funny at all, and by the time they were done, Goldie's worries had just about disintegrated into thin air.

Oh, how bad he felt. So bad. Horribly bad.

Sitting there with his back against the wall and his head resting against the beam that the top half of her shell was mounted onto, he stared into the currently-vacant security room, picking at the rotten flesh his stomach exposed. He couldn't recognize any of the other shells that the pieces of were scattered around the Fright, but he immediately recognized his friend, even without her hat that she loved so much.

Two lies he told. One: there will never be an accident, and two: we will never be an attraction.

At least it put her at ease until it actually happened. He had been separated from her for over 30 years and had no idea if she had been here the entire time, but she had definitely been someplace different at one point because her head shape was altered and she was missing her top teeth.

He couldn't talk anymore; the strain that was put on the speaker in his endoskeleton was great and had finally broken a couple years after he was forced to share his suit with somebody else. The most he could manage was garbled, moaning nonsense that sounded similar to whalesong. That disgusted him greatly, because that meant that he wasn't even able to apologize for telling her such a huge lie.

Letting out what he wanted to be a sigh but just sounded like a groan, he focused on the steadily flashing light in the security room.

 _Sorry I let you down, sparkly bear._

 **...**

 **The next story will be happy, I swear! (I have also realized this is a bit similar to another certain story... I hadn't realized until I finished it, sorry about that :( I've got an idea for another ending that I possibly will write tomorrow; I'll have to see if it'll work out). Thank you so much for reading and enjoy the rest of your day! 3**


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